Trails were in early-season conditions. Extremely wet, a little snow here and there, though seldom necessary to take more than a couple of steps in a row on snow. Plenty of blowdowns and branches in the trail, at times causing me to lose the trail (once briefly on South Ridge Trail and once on Back 80, both on steep uphills).

This will go much faster with good conditions, and a harder effort. I expect to drop at least half an hour easily, just with better trail conditions and knowing the route better (not having to consult a map at most junctions). There's some gnarly, techy trail out there to rival some of the most notorious stuff in the Whites and slow down even the quickest legs. Definitely worth doing, though I don't know that it's the best route on Cardigan. It feels a bit like cheating to leave the steepest trail in the East off the route - Holt's is a gem (and gets pretty scary with any ice or snow on it).